Rosaiah has chosen sycophancy over the law

Andhra Pradesh CM K. Rosaiah participates in a protest demonstration violating the prohibitory orders imposed by his own government.

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A Srinivasa Rao

November 17, 2010

UPDATED: November 17, 2010 10:10 IST

Can the chief minister of a state participate in a protest demonstration violating the prohibitory orders imposed by his own government? Well, that was exactly what Andhra Pradesh chief minister K. Rosaiah did last week, kicking up a major political controversy.

Rosaiah participated in a dharna at the Basheerbagh cross roads in Hyderabad along with hundreds of party leaders and cadres to protest against the derogatory remarks made by former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh president K. S. Sudarshan against Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

What the chief minister and other Congress leaders ignored was that the area has been declared as "Red Zone" as per the police records, since it falls within one kilometre distance from the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, where prohibitory orders under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code are always in force. The place is also adjacent to the Hyderabad City Police Commissionerate and Police Control Room.

But the police turned a blind eye towards the protest demonstration for more than two hours. Only after the demonstration ended, the police entered the scene and took into custody some leaders including Congress MPs Anjan Kumar Yadav, V. Hanumantha Rao and a few state Congress leaders and let them off later. They did not dare book any case against Rosaiah and his cabinet colleagues for participating in the dharna violating prohibitory orders.

The opposition parties lost no time in raising a hue and cry over Rosaiah's participation in the demonstration. Telugu Desam Party politburo member K. Yerrannaidu demanded that a case should be registered against the chief minister for violating the law.

"Never in the history of the state had any chief minister participated in a dharna. Rosaiah not only set aside the protocol norms, but also violated the existing rules and regulations violating prohibitory rules," he said and alleged that the chief minister was only trying to get into the good books of Madam Sonia Gandhi by participating in the dharna.

Lok Satta Party president Dr Jayaprakash Narayana said that Rosaiah had set a bad precedent by taking part in the sit-in demonstration in violation of prohibitory orders.

"Had it been any other political party's demonstration, the police would have taken the agitators into custody for causing disruption to public life. But, they did not touch the chief minister. In fact, by not arresting the Chief Minister and others for violating law, the police has in fact lost a golden opportunity to demonstrate that all are equal in the eyes of the law," he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took the issue very seriously.

A delegation of BJP leaders lodged a complaint with Governor E. S. L. Narasimhan, demanding dismissal of Rosaiah from the chief minister post for encouraging lawlessness.

"The Chief Minister is supposed to safeguard the Constitution and implement the rule of law. If Rosaiah himself violates the law, who will follow the rules hereafter?" BJP state president G. Kishan Reddy said.

Interestingly, Rosaiah's dharna reminded political observers of a similar action by former Telugu Desam Party chief minister N. T. Rama Rao in the 1980s, when Congress workers led by the then Pradesh Congress president Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy were demonstrating at the main gate of the State Secretariat demanding the Chief Minister to provide solutions to problems in the Rayalaseema region.

When the Congress workers tried to gherao him, N. T. Rama Rao got down from his car and squatted on the road for a couple of hours braving scorching sun. He did not listen to the officials who told him that it was against the rule of law and as a chief minister he had to respect the law. It was only after the police cleared the Congress workers did he enter the Secretariat.

Hyderabad gets a wild visitor

One has come across incidents of wild animals like tigers, leopards, bears and elephants entering human habitations; but here is a rare incident of a crocodile entering the residential area in Hyderabad.

Last week, some construction workers who were draining out water from a trench dug for construction at Nanakramguda village on the outskirts of Hyderabad were shocked to find a six- foot long crocodile popping up out of the water. They wondered how a crocodile entered the area, where there are no rivers or canals in the vicinity.

The workers informed the police and the local municipality officials, who in turn, summoned a poaching squad from the Nehru Zoological Park. But the crocodile played hide and seek with the officials. The area turned into a tourist spot with a large number of onlookers gathering there. It took eight days for the officials to drain out water from the trench and then catch the crocodile by tranquilising it.

It is still a mystery as to from where and how the crocodile crawled all along the road and entered the water-logged trench. The officials suspect that the crocodile might have crawled its way from Bharatammakunta Lake about a kilometre from the area.

Laxman dragged into intra-Congress dispute

Politics in sports is not a new phenomenon in our country. And yet another classic example of this "politicisation of sports" is the controversy over naming of stands in the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium at Uppal in Hyderabad, where the second cricket test between India and New Zealand was played.

A few days ago, the Hyderabad Cricket Association Board decided to name the Western Stand of the Uppal cricket stadium after stylish Hyderabadi batsman V. V. S. Laxman in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the game, on the lines of Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar stands at the Wankhede cricket stadium, Mumbai.

Within a few hours, the Board changed the decision and announced that the Western stand would be named after Bharati Cements, promoted by Congress MP Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, son of late chief minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy. Apparently, Jagan had offered to buy the stand by paying Rs 2.5 crore. The HCA board could not afford to lose such a big money and ignore a high profile politician like Jagan. So, they dumped Laxman and opted for Jagan.

The HCA's decision irked the sports lovers who raised a hue and cry over its sudden volte face. The Rosaiah government, which is strongly opposing Jagan's ambitious plans, also entered the scene.

Having no other option, the HCA told the government that it would rename the Northern Stand after Laxman, while retaining Bharati Cements' name for the Western Stand. One can only hope that it will not change its latest decision again!

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